WHR Members,
The club is being asked for a yes or no vote on a proposed resolution for the RI Board to consider. In order to cast the club's vote, we need to to hear from you. Please CLICK HERE to vote yes or no by April 27th,
The resolution from the WE Rotary club is asking for Rotary International's Board of Directors to consider supporting the growing international call for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons reflected in the UN Treaty on The Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, supporting UN General Assembly resolutions endorsing that Treaty, and calling on the 9 states that possess nuclear weapons to enter into urgent negotiations for a verifiable, enforceable agreement to jointly eliminate their nuclear arsenals according to an agreed upon timeline.
Message from PDG Roz Cooper:
Rotary members can influence change within Rotary International and the Rotary Foundation through Resolutions and Legislation. Resolutions are requests to the Board of Trustees to take action that is outside the purview of Rotary’s constitutional documents. Resolutions should affect the Rotary world rather than address local or administrative issues. If adopted, these resolutions are then considered by the RI Board, or The Rotary Foundation trustees. Proposed resolutions must be approved or endorsed by the Clubs in the District at a District Conference.
Attached is a proposed Resolution by the WE Rotary Club of International Peace, D5000 Hawaii. Please vote to endorse or not to endorse the proposed Resolution.
Mahalo for your support.
Roz Cooper, PDG
District 5000 Council on Resolutions and Council on Legislations Representative.
RESOLUTION 25R-__ To request the RI Board to consider supporting the growing international call for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons by calling upon the nine nuclear weapons possessing countries to negotiate an agreement to do so.
Proposer (s): Rotary Club of Winnipeg-Charleswood Rotary Club of Winnipeg WE Rotary Club of International Peace
Whereas every Rotarian including Rotary International Board members has a club constitutional responsibility to advance positive peace amongst youth, in community and internationally, and
Whereas Rotary International has recognized its responsibility to help respond to the existential threat posed by the climate crisis, participating actively In the COP 28 meeting, RI President Gordon McInally stating, “Our legacy is not just in the projects we initiate, but in the global collaborations we foster for a healthier planet,” and
Whereas, like climate change, the danger of nuclear war is an immediate existential threat, and Rotary International could, as Past RI President Shekhar Mehta has said, “take stronger positions for nuclear disarmament, as organizations like the Red Cross have already done,” and
Whereas, experts like former US Defense Secretary William Perry have warned that we are closer to nuclear war than we have ever been, and former US Defense Secretary Robert McNamara has warned that we avoided nuclear war thus far only because “We lucked out. It was luck that prevented nuclear war," and
Whereas recent studies have shown that a limited nuclear war between India and Pakistan involving just 250 of the world’s 12,000 nuclear warheads could cause abrupt, catastrophic climate disruption and a global famine that would kill over 2 billion people in the first two years, and a larger war between the US and Russia could cause an even a greater famine, killing over 6 billion people in the first two years, and
Whereas working for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons fits squarely into one of Rotary’s seven Areas of Focus, Peace Building and Conflict Prevention, and Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation have decided to divest Rotary funds from corporations involved in the production of nuclear explosives, and
Whereas, by supporting a UN General Assembly resolution to end the war in Ukraine, RI has already indicated their belief that calling for the prevention of potential nuclear conflict would be a humanitarian, not a political position IT IS RESOLVED by Rotary International that the Board of Directors of Rotary International consider supporting the growing international call for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons reflected in the UN Treaty on The Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, supporting UN General Assembly resolutions endorsing that Treaty, and calling on the 9 states that possess nuclear weapons to enter into urgent negotiations for a verifiable, enforceable agreement to jointly eliminate their nuclear arsenals according to an agreed upon timeline.
Purpose and Effect This resolution will further Rotary’s commitment to world peace by adding Rotary’s influential voice to the global effort to achieve the security of a world free of nuclear weapons, strengthen our relationship with the United Nations which is leading this effort, and empower Rotary Clubs and individual Rotarians to work more effectively for this goal.